Connecting the dots...Journalists are very busy people. Using Scotts outstanding detective work we can actually read this Guestbook post from Dale Begg-Smith. The post:

"Dale

Email address: prodesigning@hotmail.com

wrote:
Advertising Proposal Hi,

Our popunder has been going for 4 months, now I am ready to buy all the traffic you get to your site. I am willing to pay you $1.5 cpm (per 1000 unique ip's) that you send to my popunder (a popup that loads behind your page so it doesn’t bother your users). I currently have 10 other warez/cracks/appz sites with my popunder on them for 4 months now and I have never missed a payment. They say I am the best advertiser they ever used."

It's somewhat amusing. I've read 4 articles so far and each one of them has had wildly different responses from Dale about his business. You'd think he would have a safe prepared answer as you know the question would come up. I can't quite remember the name of my company I made millions off of because it was a long time ago (2 years) doesn't quite cut it.

Born and bred in Canada but now calling Australia home, Begg-Smith's two main companies, AdsCPM and CPM Media, manage and track the success of ads placed on the internet through spyware and adware-style technology.

Some of you are located in .AU. I DO realize the political implications of this issue for you BUT it would make me VERY HAPPY if you just picked up the phone and called the local media in .AU and pointed them to this thread. NOT web sites since this issue will spread very fast via the "organic" nature of the web. More specifically, local Newspapers and TV stations. If we can do this, then we have a "convergence of forces" working in our favor.

Expect more "ink". I guarnatee it. In addition, I'm trying to reach some large TV stations in the USA since some of them LOVE this kind of Olympic twist.

Widely read by the premiere anti-spyware geeks, major CEOs in the CPA space, and many of the most prominent security experts and anti-spyware geeks in the world partcipate.

Exstract:

What is most interesting is what touched this fiasco off- a little research by a denizen at GeekVillage named (Joshua Smith/ Czar) who saw the "hero" on TV. This shows there is power in individual effort and speaking out around the campfire! Smalll things can lead to large things and most importantly- you can run, but you cannot hide. Rest assured this additional intel (many were already tracking it) will wind its way up into the security powers in a flash.

I wonder if the tax-man would like to know more about the details of his business.

I say this, as I quote some press he received today:

"At the post-race press conference the winner of the freestyle skiing moguls event wouldn't even give the name of his company. 'It really doesn't have a name,' the Canadian-Australian dual-national said.

There was more evasion when pressed on the amount of money he has made from an enterprise that is believed to track those pesky ads that pop-up on computer screens, the spam that clogs in-boxes and the spyware that trawls for information."

Unexpectedly, this story is building some astounding momentum right now. For the benefit of journalists who are reading this thread, I'd be most grateful if those web publishers who were involved with AdsCPM and/or its related entities could discuss their experiences here.

These account may involve whether or not you were paid, whether or not you witnessed AdsCPM using its network or other means to distribute malicious spyware, etc. Also, please note your country of residence in your response.

Thanks in advance.

( And thanks for all the "ink" you've been bringing to this breaking story, Steve )

Well, I don't have a blog (poor me, poor me...), but I updated my listing for adscpm.com, to link to this thread (including the name of the former proprietor.)

It is especially bad if/when there is mainstream attention to this industry, that, on-purpose-or-not, gets a focus on the sleazier side. That includes both, "Wow, those folks are making piles of cash from me surfing the Web," and also, "Wow, those folks are ripping each other off."

"Dale Begg-Smith was so bored at school that he left at 14 to set up his own internet company. Last month, turned just 21, he was the multimillionaire president of a network of more than 1,000 outlets."

A bad decision. A few more years of schooling might have taught him that honesty and integrity are good business tactics.

Well...I suppose some ink is better than no ink, however, myself and many others who investigate this stuff at a very high level and testify before the FTC and others have absolutely NO evidence that Dale Begg-Smith and or his brother and or his associates ever delivered and or profited from SPAM. Nothing via your in-box which I'm aware of. Please correct me if I'm wrong

In this respect change this headline from:

'Spam man' wins gold (which is simply a journalistic procedure because it rimes but it is not accuraate)

Can you do me a favor and post the old whois listings for freescratchandwin.com? I'm not willing to part with 15$/month just yet for that service. Someone is interested in them as apparantly our friend has denied ever being involved with the site.